PetMed Express, Inc. v. MedPets.Com, Inc.

336 F. Supp. 2d 1213, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19176, 2004 WL 2106413
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 28, 2004
Docket03-62019-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by134 cases

This text of 336 F. Supp. 2d 1213 (PetMed Express, Inc. v. MedPets.Com, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PetMed Express, Inc. v. MedPets.Com, Inc., 336 F. Supp. 2d 1213, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19176, 2004 WL 2106413 (S.D. Fla. 2004).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING FINAL DEFAULT JUDGMENT AND ENTERING PERMANENT INJUNCTION AGAINST DEFENDANTS

COHN, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Plaintiffs Motion for Final Default Judgment and Incorporated Memorandum of Law filed on April 27, 2004 [DE # 10]. The Court has reviewed the pleadings, accompanying declarations, and applicable law.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff PetMed is a leading nationwide pet pharmacy that has been selling pet care medicines and products directly to consumers since 1996. PetMed advertises through direct catalogue sales, television commercials, and its website linked to its domain names www.1888PetMeds.com, www.PetMeds.com, www.l800Pet-Meds.com, and www.PetMedExpress.com. PetMed is a public company traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “PETS” and owns the federally-registered service marks “PetMed Express, Inc.” and “1888PetMeds.” PetMed’s financial success depends largely upon its reputation among pet owners as a convenient and efficient supplier of pet care products. (See DE # 10 at 2).

Defendant MedPets also advertises and sells pet care products through its website, which is linked to www.MedPets.com and www.1888MedPets.com. Satwant Singh is the President of MedPets. (See DE # 10, Exh. A, Declaration of Steve Roadruck). Because Defendants’ domain names are almost identical to Plaintiffs, only transposing the terms “Med” and “Pet,” Plaintiff warned Defendants that www.MedPets.com and www.l888Med-Pets.com violated Plaintiffs federally-registered trademarks and demanded that Defendants cease their infringing conduct. (See DE # 10, Exh. C, Declaration of Alison Berges, Esq.). Despite Plaintiffs warnings and attempts at resolving the matter without legal action, Defendants continued to use the domain names. Consequently, Plaintiff filed its Complaint on November 10, 2003 alleging federal trademark infringement (Count I), federal unfair competition (Count II), federal trademark dilution (Count III), federal cyberpiracy (Count IV). Florida common law trademark infringement (Count V), and Florida common law unfair competition (Count VI). Defendants response was due on December 15, 2003. Since Defendants did not respond, the Clerk entered default on January 8, 2004 [DE # 8]. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion for Final Default Judgment on April 27, 2004, to which Defendants have also failed to respond.

*1217 II. DISCUSSION

In defaulting, Defendants “admit the plaintiffs well-pleaded allegations of fact.” Buchanan v. Bowman, 820 F.2d 359 (11th Cir.1987). If the facts in the complaint are sufficient to establish liability, then the court must conduct an inquiry to ascertain the amount of damages. See Orbiz-Gonzalez v. Fonovisa, 277 F.3d 59, 62-68 (1st Cir.2002); Arista Records, Inc. v. Beker Enter., Inc., 298 F.Supp.2d 1310, 1312 (S.D.Fla.2003); Tiffany v. Luban, 282 F.Supp.2d 123, 124 (S.D.N.Y.2003). Damages may be awarded only if the record adequately reflects the basis for the award via a hearing or a demonstration of detailed affidavits establishing the necessary facts. See Adolph Coors Co. v. Movement Against Racism and The Klan, 777 F.2d 1538, 1544 (11th Cir.1985); United Artists Corp. v. Freeman, 605 F.2d 854, 857 (5th Cir.1979); Rolex Watch, USA Inc. v. Brown, 2002 WL 1226863, *2 (S.D.N.Y.2002)(finding that where “the issue is statutory damages,” the court can hold an inquest into damages “on a paper record” rather than through an in-person court hearing). In the instant case, a hearing is unnecessary to determine damages as Plaintiff seeks statutory damages and has attached detailed declarations with accompanying documentary evidence to its Motion for Final Default Judgment. 1

A. Defendants are Liable for the Trademark Violations Alleged in Plaintiffs Complaint

As a result of their default, Defendants concede that they violated PetMed’s federally-registered trademarks and the Court finds them liable for federal trademark infringement (Count I), federal unfair competition (Count II), federal trademark dilution (Count III), federal cyberpiracy (Count IV), Florida common law trademark infringement (Count V), and unfair competition (Count VI).

1. Federal Trademark Infringement (Count I) and Florida Common Law Trademark Infringement (Count V)

Under § 32(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(l)(a), liability for trademark infringement occurs when a person “use[s] in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark” which “is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive.” Thus, to prevail on a trademark infringement claim a plaintiff must demonstrate that (1) its mark has priority, (2) defendant used its mark in commerce, and (3) defendant’s mark is likely to cause consumer confusion. Int’l Cosmetics Exch., Inc. v. Gapardis Health & Beauty, Inc., 303 F.3d 1242 (11th Cir.2002); Frehl- *1218 ing Enter., Inc. v. Int’l Select Group, Inc., 192 F.3d 1330 (11th Cir.1999). The analysis of liability for Florida common law trademark infringement is the same as under the Lanham Act, Gift of Learning Found., Inc. v. TGC, Inc., 329 F.3d 792, 802 (11th Cir.2003); Carnival Corp., 74 F.Supp.2d at 1264 n. 2.

Plaintiff has satisfied the above three elements and established Defendants’ liability for federal and Florida common law trademark infringement. Plaintiffs mark has priority since PetMed has been selling its products since 1996, while Defendant created the domain names www.MedPets.com and www.1888MedPets.com in 2001. (See DE # 10, Exh. A, Declaration of Steve Roadruck). In establishing a website on the Internet, Defendants have used the infringing marks in commerce. See Planetary Motion, Inc. v. Techsplosion, Inc., 261 F.3d 1188, 1194 (11th Cir.2001). Lastly, Defendants’ default establishes that www.MedPets.com and www.1888MedPets.com are likely to cause confusion among consumers as to whether PetMed and MedPets are one and the same.

2. Federal Unfair Competition (Count II)

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Bluebook (online)
336 F. Supp. 2d 1213, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19176, 2004 WL 2106413, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petmed-express-inc-v-medpetscom-inc-flsd-2004.